Updated weather warnings issued for Canary Islands

An additional status orange warning of very heavy downpours, thunderstorms and strong winds has been issued for the western Canary Islands a bit earlier today November 12th 2025 by the Spanish meteorological agency. In La Gomera the island's government has activated its emergency plan and asks to avoid travel and to stay away from all hiking trails, walks and unpaved forestry tracks. Ravines, valley floors and low lying areas should also be avoided due to the risk of flash flooding as rain accumulations of up to 30mm in just one hour can be expected.. Same applies to the other western Canary Islands of Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro. The warnings are valid from lunchtime today until tomorrow afternoon. Status yellow warnings of thunderstorms and wind have also been issued. A heavy swell with large waves can als be expected. Gran Canaria will be under similar warnings tomorrow only while Fuerteventura and Lanzarote will come under yellow warning (see image above). Go to the Spanish meteorological service's (AEMET) official website in English for further detail.

All this is due to a large area of low pressure, presently around 980 hPa, situated NNW of the Canary Islands and off the WNW of the Iberian peninsula, named storm Claudia.

Please be aware that there is a high risk of rockfalls, which will remain for a couple of days once the rain has cleared away and the sun heats up the wet mountainsides.

Green light for green energy

Wind and sun power this electric car charging-point in Hermigua

La Gomera's island government has provisionally approved the allocation of initially 500.000 Euros in subsidies for the installation of photo-voltaic panels by private house owners and businesses. Grants of up to 60% of the cost of the installation of solar energy systems will be paid out with a maximum of 12.000 Euros for small to medium enterprises and up to 24.000 Euros for private household installations. This announcement by the island's president Casimiro Curbelo was made last Friday and is a further step towards La Gomera's ambitious plan towards becoming independent of external energy sources. This well-intentioned plan has sadly suffered delays in the past due to the energy-supplying companies dragging their feet while their ageing diesel-powered electricity generating station keeps belching out thick smoke in the island's capital, so above news is most welcome.

Further, thinkspain.com reported some time ago:

''The Canarian island of La Gomera is aiming to be powered 100% by 'green' energy sources within 12 years, slashing its power costs by 37%.

La Gomera, just off the coast of Tenerife, will be the second island in the region to try to go completely 'renewable' after El Hierro attempted it between 2014 and 2016.

The latter survived for months on wind energy alone and, in 2016, covered 39% of its electricity needs using wind farms – then, in January and February this year, had all 10,700 of its inhabitants supplied entirely by renewable sources for 18 consecutive days.

But La Gomera's plans are far more ambitious – the westernmost island in the Canaries (Ed: no, that's La Palma) currently depends upon fossil fuel for 99% of its power needs and, aside from a handful of solar panels owned by private individuals, has just two wind generators of 0.4 megawatts (MW) of power.

Despite La Gomera being famous Europe-wide for its extensive forests, being the home of the Garajonay National Park and a pioneer in 'eco-tourism' dating back over 20 years, its obvious potential for powering itself through entirely renewable sources is wasted more than anywhere else in the Canary Islands.

The regional government wants to turn La Gomera into another Iceland by 2030, mirroring Europe's northernmost country's 100% green energy supply.

By then, it aims to have enough wind farms to create 8MW of power, sufficient solar panels to generate 5MW, and for 20% of the island's cars to be electrically-powered.

The overall objective is for the island, whose population is twice that of El Hierro and which has tourist resorts with capacity for 800 visitors (Ed: surely an error - see this post), to be entirely fossil-fuel free and rely on green energy for its electricity, heating and transport – lorries and buses will be electric or hydrogen-powered.

Hydrogen generators, water pumps and storage systems are being analysed as back-up for when there is insufficient wind and sun to cover the whole island's energy needs.

The considerable cost of this ambitious project would be offset within around seven to 12 years thanks to lower production expenses, meaning that by 2042 La Gomera will start to see a return on its investment.''

Closer but insignificant quake off north coast

Just a few days after the locally felt tremor off the north-western coast of La Gomera another seismic tremor averaging just 1,6 (with a peak value of 2,2 mbLg at GOM station) on the Richter scale was registered less than 25 hours ago a short distance off La Gomera's north-north-eastern coast in a depth of 15.2  kms. Quakes of such a minor strenght are inappreciable and happen frequently in and around the Canary Islands, but are rare near La Gomera's coastline. Read more...

Minor earthquake felt in La Gomera

The red star (left) shows the epicentre of the minor earth tremor

A minor earth tremor averaging 2.8 on the Richter scale occurred at a depth of only eight kilometres in the Atlantic very close to La Gomera's west-north-western coast at around 11:10 pm late Tuesday night, January 22nd 2019

This is nothing to worry about, as La Gomera's former volcanoes are long extinct and the island has not experienced any volcanic activity for far more than a million years, being one of the oldest islands in the Canaries. La Gomera existed long before the volcanically very active neighbouring island of El Hierro was even born. However, the abundant seismic activity in and around the Canary Islands rarely comes as close and in such shallow depth as Tuesday night's minor earth tremor.

Generally volcanic activity in the Canaries is of a 'mild nature', but magma movements deep under and around the Canary Islands cause regular tremors. It is however a rare occurrence that such a quake is registered by the seismic station situated in the mountains of the national park with an epicentre so close to La Gomera, and last night's tremors were felt by the population in La Gomera's sparsely populated west and north, see the pointers in the map above, which the show locations of verified reports published by the Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN). This quake also registered at all seismic stations in neighbouring islands, with the peak value 3.9 having been recorded at the station in La Gomera (EGOM)  a few seconds before 23:10h, at the start of the tremor.

The last minor quake recorded close to La Gomera was recorded in September 2017, see previous post...

Evento	Fecha	Hora UTC	Hora Local (*)	Latitud	Longitud	Profundidad (km)	Magnitud	Tipo Mag.	Int. max.	Localizacion
es2019apdcj	22/01/2019	23:09:47	23:09:47	28.2262	-17.5079	8	2.8	mbLg	II	ATLÁNTICO-CANARIAS

Chaos once again

Fred. Olsen and Armas ferries in the port of Los Cristianos

The past weekend once again brought traffic chaos to the port of Los Cristianos as many more people were travelling to and from the western Canary Islands through the Tenerife port due to the end of the Christmas holiday season. All the traffic has to pass through the bottleneck of the port access road in Los Cristianos and the congested port itself, where several lanes of disembarking vehicles have to go through the small roundabout into the single lane that then has to pass through the centre of the town. It often happens that two or three ferries arrive at the same time leading to delays in berthing the ships, and parked cars and trucks waiting to board add to the traffic congestion. The ferry companies' sailings also often serve two islands during one trip, i.e. stopping over at La Gomera on the way to and from La Palma. When two ferries arrive at the same time in Los Cristanos discharging hundreds of cars and trucks and even more foot passengers laden with luggage, delays are inevitable. Be warned and expect hold-ups of up to one hour if you need to catch a flight, as taxis and buses often can't get in nor out of the busy port during peak times. The traffic delays sometimes also upset the ferries' sailing schedules and the past weekend's heavy seas added further problems, resulting in some visitors missing their flights home.

The complications are particularly serious on weekends, the busiest time for traffic to and from La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, but no-one appears to have a solution for the long queues of vehicles at a virtual standstill for up to an hour in some cases. Port Police do their best to keep the traffic moving but are severely hampered by the narrow exit. The often heavy traffic through Los Cristianos town adds further delays on the road to the motorway. The negative image generated by the hold-ups also worries the officials and has led to calls for the ferry companies to work together to ensure their ships do not arrive at the same time in Los Cristianos. La Gomera's president has suggested the new port of Granadilla in Tenerife's south could be used provisionally for at least some of the sailings. Los Cristianos is much too small a harbour for the current volume of traffic and additionally is used by numerous fishing vessels, excursion boats and pleasure craft. Passenger and vehicle numbers continue to grow every year and recent fare reductions for residents of the Canary Islands have produced an even steeper increase of traffic through Los Cristianos, a popular and very busy holiday resort, prone to congestion anyway.

Minor earthquake close to La Gomera

Evento	Fecha	Hora GMT	Hora Local (*)	Latitud	Longitud	Profundidad (km)	Magnitud	Tipo Mag.	Int. max.	Localizacion
es2017ldmmo	17/09/2017	20:49:03	21:49:03	28.1755	-17.1168	9	2.0	mbLg		E AGULO.IGM

A minor earth tremor of 2.0 on the Richter scale occurred at a depth of nine kilometres close to La Gomera's north-eastern coast at around 9 pm on Sunday night, Sept. 17th 2017.

This is nothing to worry about, as La Gomera's former volcanoes are long extinct and the island has not experienced any volcanic activity for far more than a million years, being one of the oldest islands in the Canaries. La Gomera existed long before the volcanically very active neighbouring island of El Hierro was even born.

Generally volcanic activity in the Canaries is of a 'mild nature', but magma movements deep under and around the Canary Islands cause regular tremors. It is however a rare occurrence that such a quake was registered by the seismic station situated in the mountains above the town of Agulo with an epicentre so close to La Gomera.

Winter Solstice

Midwinter sunset seen from Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera towards El Hierro island

Island of El Hierro exemplary in renewable energy

Our smaller neighbouring island to the south, El Hierro, has become self-sufficient in electrical energy. The Spanish daily El Pais reports:

An aerial view of the Gorona del Viento wind-hydro plant. / DESIREE MARTIN (AFP)

In the coming decades the system will save El Hierro around €80 million that would have been spent on 6,000 tons of diesel each year

El Hierro, the smallest and most westerly of the Canary Islands, has become the first isolated territory in the world to meet all its energy needs using renewables. For four hours from 12 noon on Sunday August 9, the Gorona del Viento wind-hydro power station generated all the electricity for the tiny island of 10,000 inhabitants using clean energy – the culmination of a project that began 30 years ago.

“It’s amazing!” says Gonzalo Piernavieja, head of research, development and innovation at the Canaries Technological Institute, one of the entities taking part in the local council-led project, along with power company Endesa and the Canary Islands regional government.
The Gorona del Viento wind-hydro power station has been hooked up to five wind-powered generators that together are able to produce the 35 GW/h the island requires. In the coming decades the system will save El Hierro around €80 million that would have been spent on 6,000 tons of diesel each year, as well as reducing carbon emissions by around 20,000 tons annually.

The project, which has cost €82 million, has been hailed as a major achievement around the world. It represents the first time that wind and hydro power have been combined. Once the wind farm has generated enough energy to meet the island’s needs, the excess is fed into the power station’s pumps, which raise water from a reservoir located at sea level to a height of 700 meters. On days when the wind is not sufficient to provide the required energy, the hydraulic installation comes into play. The water is channeled back down to the lower reservoir, moving the turbines that produce the electricity needed for the island.
Around 80 percent of El Hierro’s energy is already produced via renewables, but that figure can rise to 100 percent for certain periods, sometimes of up to a week, says Piernavieja. “There are Pacific islands with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, as well as some African communities, that have also been able to meet all their energy needs using renewables, but nothing compares to what we have achieved on El Hierro, both in terms of the number of people we are supplying, as well as the fact that our system is not connected to the outside world, and is housed entirely on the island.”

Belén Allende, the head of the local council on El Hierro, says she is proud of the achievement: “This is a day that will be remembered by the rest of the world.” She hopes that El Hierro’s know-how will be used by other islands. “There are around 17 million people living on islands in Europe, and 600 million across the planet,” she says, adding that the plan now is for El Hierro to become a kind of open-air laboratory for other environmental initiatives. Representatives from Japan, Taiwan and the Faroe Islands have recently visited El Hierro to look at how to adapt the technology to their own needs.

Research vessel open to visitors

The oceanographic research vessel Angeles Alvarino (above, image: ieo.es) which is the most modern of the fleet of the Instituto Español de Oceanografía will visit the port of San Sebastian de La Gomera and and will be open to the public on Sunday, May 3rd 2015.

From 10am to 12:30pm and again from 4:30 to 7pm  every ten minutes groups of up to 12 visitors will be invited to come aboard to view the vessel and its scientific equipment. Crew and scientists will explain their work and the facilities.

The ship was recently employed in investigating the new submarine volcano and the biodiversity around it, just off the coast of El Hierro island and visitors can view the latest images and findings from there.

A cold winter in the Canary Islands

The peak of Teneriffe's Mount Teide covered in snow. Archive image taken from La Gomerea. © lagomera1.blogspot.com

Canary Islands recorded the coldest winter since 1998

The Canary Islands have finally left behind February, the coldest month since 2012, and the coldest winter period recorded since 1998-99, according to the (AEMET).The average temperature in February was 13.5ºC, a degree and a half below normal. The airport of El Hierro recorded on day 8 the lowest maximum (16.5ºC) in February since 1973. As in the months of January and December, February has been a dry month. The average rainfall was 22.0mm, only 40% of the expected amount; however, the average number of rainy days (8) exceeds the normal value. The same goes for snow days in mountain areas. Except for Izaña, which was close to normal, all observations show the lack of sunshine was more pronounced on the northern coast of the island. Diario de Avisos
(Above report by Queenie)

Cafeteria shipshape in ship-shaped ferry terminal

Los Cristianos ferry terminal, built in the form of a ship

The refurbished bright interior

Good news for travellers to an from the western Canary Islands of La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera: The cafeteria in the ferry terminal on the pier in Los Cristianos on Tenerife has reopened under new management this week. The upstairs facility had been closed for a long time and it was a fairly long walk to the nearest bar or cafe in the port to get any food or drink. Now the refurbished bright interior with its long self-sevice counter and the large terraces overlooking the harbour once again provide sustenance and rest for weary travellers while watching life in the busy harbour. 

Meanwhile the cafeteria in the ferry terminal of San Sebastian de La Gomera is still closed, but the rental contract has been awarded to new management by the authorities (the terminals are public buildings) and it is expected to reopen soon as well.

The upstairs entrance. Photo taken early in the morning just after opening

Left and above: The ample terraces

Canary Islands seen from space at night

The Canary Islands seen from space by night. The population centres on Tenerife and Gran Canaria produce the most light pollution while La Gomera and El Hierro islands are fairly dark in comparison. Image: nrlmry.navy.mil

El Hierro clearly seen from La Gomera yesterday

The Wandering Oil Rig Mystery

The tug turning the rig just south off Valle Gran Rey yesterday morning

The rig that was reported and viewed passing La Gomera on Sunday is still around... and doing rounds between the islands. This morning it was seen again close to La Gomera and being towed past Valle Gran Rey's southern approach. In the past few days it has been spotted off the coast of southern Tenerife, off La Gomera and it just keeps going around in circles  between the western islands of Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro. The 86m tug that's towing the rig is named Pacific Champion, registered in Singapore, built only a couple of years ago in 2011 with a GT of 4566 tons, and its last registered port of call was Las Palmas de Gran Canaria about a month ago. Rumours are doing the rounds (including one that says it is a rig that is to dredge material from the bottom of the sea for the new harbour in Tazacorte on La Palma to replace another dredger that capsized) but personally I think that it is an oil rig which is just waiting for the right weather conditions to be towed across the Atlantic (or to go wherever) after a refit in the docks of Gran Canaria which specialise in that kind of rig-refitting work. It probably won't be looking for oil, gas, nor anything else around the western Canaries, I think. How many more erratic circles until it goes away ? I'm tracking it and will let you know here if there are any interesting developments..., but just a while ago at around midnight it was heading at 3.4 knots (slowly) towards south of La Gomera again from the southern tip of Tenerife. As a neighbour said: ''Maybe they want us to get accustomed to the sight of rigs !?'' - Naw !

Mind you, oil exploration remains the hottest poltical potato in the Canary Islands.

UPDATE 13-03-14, 10pm:
The rig towed by the tug stopped over in Santa Cruz de Tenerife harbour today around noon. The tug Pacific Champion went on to berth in the harbour of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria later tonight - whether with or without the rig is not known to me. Get the spy-glasses out over there! This ends the many loops in the sea of the tandem in the western Canaries for now.

The Milky Way between La Gomera and El Hierro

The western lights of La Gomera (left) and El Hierro (right) under the stars. Image: project nightflight

Green airglow shimmers atop translucent clouds as the Milky Way rises over a remote island off the northwest coast of Africa in a majestic photo recently sent to Space.com.

Erwin Matys and Karoline Mrazek captured this spectacular image on June 6, 2013 from the southern part of La Palma Island, Canary Islands. They took the image as part of Project Nightflight, an astrophotography project aimed at "capturing the beauty of the night sky."

“Just after we finished our shots the whole sky was suddenly covered with thick clouds and all the magic was gone,” Matys told Space.com via email. 

The foreground features the characteristic volcanic landscape of the Canary Islands. The faint lights are from neighboring islands, La Gomera toward the left and El Hierro. Tiny top-lights from a small wind park on the shore give off the fait red glow visible in the foreground.

The photographers digitally combined two exposures of four minutes, one for the Milky Way (tracked), the second for the landscape (untracked). 

Source: SPACE.com

Russian frigate visits Canary Islands

The ‘Shtandart’, a replica of the Russian frigate commissioned by Peter the Great in 1703, spent the winter in the Canary Islands and offered 4 itineraries for young people to experience sailing in the 18th century as well as explore the islands. You can find out how this came about and the purpose of the Shtandart Project by clicking the link.

The above was first published by Queenie's Daily Snippets

Travel delays at the ferry port of Los Cristianos

The weekend is once again upon us and that means more people are travelling to and from the western Canary Islands and different ferry schedules from weekdays. All this traffic has to pass through the bottleneck of the port access road in Los Cristianos on Tenerife and the congested port itself. The ferry companies' sailings also often serve two islands during one trip, i.e. stopping over at La Gomera on the way to and from La Palma and El Hierro and that means that travel to all the western islands is affected. When two ferries arrive at the same time in Los Cristanos discharging hundreds of cars and trucks, delays are inevitable. Be warned and expect hold-ups if you need to catch a flight, as taxis and buses often can't get in nor out of the busy port during rush hour. The traffic delays sometimes also upset the ferries' sailing schedules. I've experienced these delays a couple of times this summer and met people who missed connections. The following report and photo was published by Island Connections.eu a couple of days ago:

Port blockage!

"The limitations of the port in Los Cristianos have again been in evidence as heavy weekend ferry traffic at the end of the summer brought the usual chaos and should serve to make the Port Authority and local council rethink the current lay-out.

On several occasions the simultaneous presence in Los Cristianos of the Fred Olsen and Armas ferries serving La Gomera brought massive problems, with cars, buses and container lorries stuck in the bottle-neck at the port exit as they disembarked.  The merging of up to six lanes of exiting traffic at the small roundabout into the single lane on the only road leading out of the port is a nightmare not just for vehicles trying to leave the port but also those heading for the departing ferries.  The complications are particularly serious on Fridays and Sundays, two of the busiest days for traffic to and from La Gomera, but no-one appears willing to provide a solution to the negative image generated by the long queues of vehicles at a virtual standstill for up to half an hour in some cases.  The Port Police do their best to keep the traffic moving but are severely hampered by the narrow exit.  The latest hold-ups have led to calls for the ferry companies to work together to ensure their ships do not arrive at the same time in Los Cristianos."